"A blog is to a writer what a canvas is to an artist." ~ Colleen Redman

The three dogs all got along great, Maury’s, Jude’s, and ours. Maury (pictured with Joe below) brought me roses that he grew in his backyard, ones that adorned the dining table at the weekend meditation retreat for caregivers and counselors that he, Joe, and Alan Forrest (head of the counseling department at Radford University) just finished hosting.
It was a Sunday afternoon pit stop before the threesome (five, counting dogs) would head off to Charlottesville for a Monday morning meeting on mindfulness and death and dying. They were tired but buzzing with good vibes.
With porch swings swinging and wind chimes singing, we lollygagged on the porch, talking about Love and Kindness, Buddhism, and the Wise Woman tradition. I dished them up venison spaghetti and greens from the garden, and after we ate, I sent each one off to find a bed for an hour long nap before starting the next leg of their adventure.Post notes: Together, with a group from California, Maury and Joe helped launched MAYA (Mindful Awareness for Young Adults), a national organization that presents meditation retreats for teens and young adults. The next Virginia Teen Meditation Retreat, held 30 minutes from Floyd, is August 9-15. More about that retreat and others, including press coverage and photos can be found at the website for Earthsong Organic Farm and Retreat Center in Stuart, where some of the retreats are held.

I love those roses..so gorgeous. We used to have lots of rosebushes in our yard when I was a kid. Now that I live in a Manhattan high-rise apartment, I have no outdoor space or rosebushes, so I keep container plants like orchids.

About

From the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia I write to synthesize what I'm learning at the time, whether it be poetry, a political commentary, or a letter to my family in Hull, Massachusetts, where I'm originally from. Whenever I don't know exactly what it is I'm doing and it borders on wasting my time, I call it research. 'Dear Abby, How can I get rid of freckles?' was my first published piece at the age of 11.